


we've never met, yet you stand before me once more

by kiwinatorwaffles



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Battle, Blood and Injury, Canon Universe, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Magic, Mild Blood, Minor Violence, please help i wrote this at 3 am, rivals to friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29182101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwinatorwaffles/pseuds/kiwinatorwaffles
Summary: when sent out to gather resources for the puppet show, espresso decides to take a different path... into an unexpected dangerous situation.who will be there to save him?
Relationships: Madeleine Cookie & Espresso Cookie (Cookie Run)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47





	we've never met, yet you stand before me once more

**Author's Note:**

> this isn't implicitly intended to be a ship, but interpret it as you'd like. i personally don't ship these 2 romantically, but you know.... maybe some platonic interactions in the future? :]
> 
> the title is also a reference to their bond story in game.
> 
> this fic is based off of their bond story quest in game, except with a lot more violence.
> 
> also i don't remember the exact dialogue and events from the cutscenes SHSHJSJHS so some of this will be changed around and inaccurate devsisters add a replay cutscenes please

With the weight of a few axes sinking heavily into his arms, Espresso Cookie blows a lock of hair out of his face and gently sets it down in front of a warmly-dressed Cookie. As he straightens, he watches the Cookie’s elated grin form on their face.

“Thank you, Espresso Cookie!” Snow Sugar Cookie bows cheerfully, nearly bouncing in their boots. “We are all grateful for your help!”

“Of course,” the dark-haired Cookie assures as he fixes his glasses. “Assisting in the completion of this project is not much to me at all.”

Seeing as his share of work has been completed, Espresso turns to take his leave and continue the rest of his afternoon. However, his plans shatter once more as Alchemist rushes into the scene, her pigtails flapping in the wind.

“Has anyone seen Madeleine?” she asks, setting a pile of wood next to the tools. 

“No, I think he went to get the shovels,” Snow Sugar informs, tilting their head at the sudden inquiry. “Why are you asking for him?”

“Well, he said he’d go into the Hero's Gate to get the crystals needed for the theatre! Will he be coming back soon?”

Espresso knows that Madeleine will one-hundred percent _not_ be coming back soon. The shovels themselves take a while to finish being smithed, and who knows what types of errands Madeleine will send himself on while he’s out?

The offer of an afternoon filled with magic study and work tempts him to just slip away and leave the others to figure it out for themselves, but the thought of an unfinished project bothers him far more. Besides, he doesn’t want to see another inconvenience caused by Madeleine's habits to delay the production any further. 

Yet then again, if it were not for that blonde bastard getting involved, he wouldn’t even be here in the first place. Well, maybe it is his own fault for taking interest in helping the Cookies build a theatre, but he isn’t ready to accept that blame just yet.

Without further thinking, he steps up to the two and offers, “I will go in his place. What do you need?”

“Really?” Alchemist raises an eyebrow in amusement, almost as if she doesn’t believe that Espresso is willing to help. “Well, if you’re sure... then we just need a few crystals from the Hero’s Gate to help light that place up.”

“Very well, then,” Espresso tugs on the collar of his coat gracefully, straightening out to prepare for his departure. “I will not be long.”

With a flap of his cloak accompanied by hard heels on soft grass— Espresso strides off to complete his task.

***

On his way to the Hero’s Gate, Espresso decides to take a new course to the Crystal Caverns. From what he has seen, the Caverns hold an abundance of crystals that he can easily get his hands on, with the added fact that it’s closer to him anyway. Are there a couple more enemies? That may be the case, but it shouldn’t be anything he can’t handle.

As he expects, finding a sufficient amount of crystals is quite the piece of cake. It only takes a few minutes of wandering around the Cavern to find a couple high-quality pieces, which he stores inside of his bag. 

Espresso stands up after picking out one last crystal... finally finished. With a satisfied sigh, he turns to head for the exit, but a purple glint catches his eye. It flashes from a pile of broken crystals, refracting a thousand tiny light particles through the crystallized surfaces and right onto his face.

_Curious..._

Stepping towards the gems, Espresso crouches down once more and pushes aside the crystals, revealing a sparkly, violet stone. 

“Is this... the Arabica Gem?” 

He picks it up gently, turning it around to inspect all surfaces. Its deep glow casts upon his glasses, reflecting off his clothes in a sharp lavender. Surely enough, a single coffee bean lies crystallized within the gem, surrounded by its crystalline shell. With this gemstone, he can conduct endless sorts of research to further Coffee Magic. However, with its tendency to break after a single use, he must be careful...

_Hm, perhaps following through on this task has provided a positive point, after all_ , Espresso thinks with a slight smile as he slips the gem into his pouch. _I apologize for denigrating you, Madeleine._

With his mood lifted by the discovery, Espresso picks up his steps to hurry back and turn in the materials. The quicker he gets home, the earlier he can begin inspecting the gem.

Imagine the discoveries he can accomplish! Perhaps new magic spells, or how to strengthen current ones? Maybe, he can even learn to extract the power of the gem to use in his own magic practices.

However, with this mood, a carefree naivety easily overshadows his senses and perception. Through walking, he spends the entire time inside of his mind, brainstorming ideas on how to use the treasure... Perhaps a bit too immersed to pay attention to his surroundings. 

Consequently, it is much too late when finally notices the uncharacteristically loud clunking of glass-like objects behind him. He turns around to face a creature twice his size towering before him.

The crystal golem growls at a booming volume, its charging fist directed right towards Espresso’s chest. With barely a second to react, he swerves to the side, promptly firing out a condensed flaming coffee bean into its arm. A _CRACK!_ noise echoes through the cave as a line splits down the beast’s arm, providing just enough of a distraction for Espresso to fire up another attack. 

After a few hits, the golem shatters into a hundred little pieces, its radiant shards scattering across the barren floor. Espresso’s boot crunches against the crystals as he breathes out deeply and fixes his glasses.

“That was careless of me...” Espresso scoffs, turning to look back at the mess. The scratched fragments lie piled on the floor, a few of which he pushes aside with the tip of his shoe. “I should have anticipated a possible ambush.”

Pushing the hair out of his face, Espresso continues towards the exit once more, only to be interrupted by a dart-shaped object slicing through the air and right towards the back of his head. With his senses heightened by the earlier battle, he fortunately swerves around just in time to catch it. It’s sharp and dense in his hand… crystal, once more.

Slowly rotating in his step, Espresso turns around to face an army of various crystal creatures, all with their weapons and bows ready. Before he even has time to register the situation, the first arrows already fly at his defenseless self.

“Oh, for the Tree’s sake!” Espresso exclaims as he swipes his hand up, forming a wall of coffee beans to deflect the crystal arrows. He barely manages to defend himself from most of them, having to manually avoid a few arrows that penetrate his shield. Once the defense breaks, he catches an arrow whizzing straight for his face by hand, which he launches back to the shooter. “There are more of them?!”

Espresso attempts to retaliate, flicking his finger up to form a wormhole of dark magic amidst the crowd of enemies- His critical mistake. With the spell, he only manages to pull the sword wielders in, leaving the marksmen in clear shot of his form while he’s left defenseless with magic to recharge. 

The clicking of arrows loading into crossbows ring out across the wide caves, almost like a rhythmic melody of foreboding death.

His eyes widen, time seemingly freezing, yet locked around his limbs in a tight grip. He watches the arrows launch with pinpoint detail, accompanied by the melodic clacking of the crossbows and a symphony of flicking string. Everything happens before his eyes, yet he can’t act upon it in the slightest.

It is only when the projectiles are merely a foot away from him that his arm finally snaps into movement. Shooting his hand up towards the ceiling, an array of coffee beans circle before him, deflecting the arrows back towards the crystal golems. 

And perhaps, maybe for just that moment, the climbing sense of dread within Espresso’s chest drops dead in its tracks. He’s safe. He’s managed to protect himself, and now all he has to do is make a tactical retreat. If only he can slip out--

For that single millisecond that he let his guard down, one last arrow shoots out from the army, soaring in a perfect line-- straight into his raised hand.

_SNAP!_

Espresso’s wrist cracks and shatters with the arrow’s impact, his dark dough scattering across the air like particles of glass from a broken vase. Jelly bursts out from the open wound, staining the ground with bright pink splatters. The sudden jolt of pain shocks through Espresso’s body like a bolt of lightning, providing the perfect distraction for him to drop his defenses. In mere seconds, the previously constructed patterns of coffee beans completely vanish, leaving an unguarded Cookie hunched over his damaged hand.

“These nuisances…” he hisses, attempting to ignore his seeping energy with every stream of jelly that oozes out. The pain of the injury had disappeared quickly (as they do for every Cookie), but now the real problem he must face is his rapidly depleting power. If he doesn’t take action within the next minute, he may very well end up as a pile of broken Cookie dough on the ground.

There isn’t much left he can do to save himself. While the golems reload their bows, Espresso desperately claws around his bag using his remaining hand to find anything he can use as a final line of defense. It brushes across a jagged object, and he yanks it out.

The Arabica gem shines like a star against a dark, heavy night. But… is this really his only option? 

Like a timer, the clicking of crossbows signifies the end to his brief moment of respite. Espresso glances up at the offense… and drops the gem back into his pouch.

_I am not going to use this against these insolent thorns. If I go down, then so be it. As long as the stone is safe, that is all that matters._

He holds out his hand, charging up one final attack. If there is a way to win without using his trump card, he _will_ find it.

The Crystal golems load their bows once more, each aiming their arrows at Espresso. Following their moves, Espresso flicks his hand out, and a wheel of blazing coffee beans forms behind him.

“Attack all you want, but I will not allow you to win!” he announces to the enemies in a dramatic stance, pointing his hand out to the crowd. “Your foolish games are futile in comparison to Dark Magic, in the end-”

Suddenly, a deep shout interrupts Espresso’s speech.

“ _Espresso Cookie!_ ” a booming voice calls out, its echos slowly growing louder through the passageways. “Where are you?!”

It sounds… awfully familiar. Something about its tone: the pride, the deep vibrato, the evident traces of worry, and most importantly-- the unmistakable cocky undertone… Espresso only knows one Cookie that matches this profile.

“ _ESPRESSO!_ ” Madeleine Cookie hollers as his armor-clad body skids into the cavern that Espresso stands in. Once he scans the room and spots Espresso’s dark silhouette, he narrows his deep blue eyes, clenching his sword and pointing it out into a charge. “Get away from him!” he demands, slashing his blade out at the golems, effortlessly taking down five of them with a single swipe.

Upon Madeleine’s arrival, something inside of Espresso breathes a sigh of relief. Finally buckling underneath him, his legs force him into a kneel as his power dissipates around him. He kneels, clutching his chest and taking short, quick breaths. Reaching around for his hand fragment, Espresso brushes over his target item and picks it up, fitting it back onto his splintered wrist. He’s lost a considerable amount of jelly, but at least it’s patched up now. Using just a bit of Dark Magic, he temporarily binds his hand to his arm-- just until he can seek proper medical attention.

Not very long after, the final Crystal golem shatters at Madeleine’s sword, its pieces raining onto the ground in a downpour. Panting heavily, Madeleine retracts his sword back to the side, stomping down on the last unbroken part. With his job completed, he now turns to the dark magician on the floor.

“Espresso! Are you alright?” he asks worriedly, dropping down into a crouch before Espresso, whose deadpan glare might just be scarier than those Crystal Golems. “You aren’t looking too hot…” Madeleine’s eyes trace down to Espresso’s cracked hand, in which he reacts with his eyes widening. “What in the- What happened here?!”

“Do not ask about it,” Espresso demands, quickly hiding it under his cloak. “And yes, I am alright. Now, let us leave.”

“Come on, are you not even going to thank me for saving your life?” Madeleine retorts, only pushing his face closer to the other male. Espresso cringes and leans back to avoid the blond, but Madeleine only continues. “If it weren’t for me, you would have definitely crumbled!”

“I could have managed fine on my own,” Espresso huffs, turning away from Madeleine’s narrowed eyes. 

He pauses for a second. Madeleine _does_ have a point. If it had not been for him, then Espresso might have depleted all his energy before even coming close to defeating the mob. He should be a little bit more appreciative.

“However…” Although Espresso doesn’t give Madeleine the liberty of direct eye contact, he does sigh and glance at the knight before continuing his comment. “I suppose… I _will_ thank you for your assistance.”

Once the words leave his mouth, Espresso immediately recognizes his mistake. Upon hearing his apology, a wide, arrogant grin spreads onto Madeleine’s face. 

The blond leans back out, sticking his hand on his hip and singing in a teasing voice, “So, you _do_ have some respect left in you, Essy! In that case, you are welcome!”

“If you call me that one more time, I am retracting my statement,” Espresso grunts, rolling his eyes. “Now, get going before I change my mind on the spot.”

“Right, right. Whatever you say.”

Madeleine stands up, fixing his helm and hair. Espresso pushes himself up to follow as well before freezing completely in his tracks.

A giant Crystal golem towers over Madeleine’s back, and neither of them had noticed in their bickering.

“Espresso?” Madeleine frowns, staring down at the other man. “What’s wrong…?”

Right as Madeleine turns to face what’s behind him, the Crystal golem roars and pulls back its fist. In a panic, Madeleine grabs his shield and lifts it up milliseconds away from the golem’s fist striking. Upon impact, a loud _CLANG!_ vibrates and bounces off the cave walls in an infinite loop.

“ _Madeleine!_ ” Espresso shouts, holding out his hand in an attempt to summon a spell… yet, nothing forms at his palms. That stitching trick he had used on his wrist has left him nearly powerless and unable to help Madeleine.

“Get out!” Madeleine orders, shifting his eyes back to Espresso for a moment. His legs bend and push against the ground to withstand the force, and Espresso can tell that he won’t last for long. “I’ll take care of it!”

Espresso’s eyes shift between the golem’s fist and Madeleine’s determined face-- though, is it really determination? Or is it just a facade to mask his desperateness? Madeleine is fighting a losing battle. Perhaps if the golem decides to lift its fist once more for a new attack, then maybe he will have the opening for an attack, but it doesn’t look like the beast will let up any time soon. There is no opportunity to use a sword, and even the strongest of shields are eventually bound to crack.

As he watches the sweat slowly trickle down Madeleine’s face, Espresso knows there is only one way to defeat the monster. Without thinking twice, he snatches the Arabia gem from his bag and holds it out, aiming it at the golem.

“Stay away from Madeleine!” Espresso orders, charging up his remaining magic to concentrate into the stone.

Madeleine turns back in shock, but by now, the magic bursts out of the gem in an extravagant purple, tunneling a hole into the golem’s entire torso. Like an array of scattered building blocks, it shatters into pieces and its bottom half collapses onto the ground, burying itself in the fragments of the previous attackers. 

The gem crumbles right in Espresso’s palm. _A shame, truly._

Having been liberated from the pressure, Madeleine stumbles back onto the ground and finally lets go of holding onto the shield with both hands. He stares at the broken golem in a near disbelief, almost as if trying to process everything that happened in the past minute.

Espresso takes this perfect opportunity to return a snarky remark with a slight, smug grin curling up his face. “So? Who is saving who, now?”

“H-Hey!” Madeleine protests, shooting up in an instant, shooting a nasty glare at Espresso. Something about Madeleine’s flustered response fills Espresso with a sense of accomplishment, seeing that arrogant smile of his break. “Forget about that! More importantly, what in the name of Earthbread did you just do?”

“I simply used the Arabica gem I found to destroy the monster,” Espresso responds blandly to provoke Madeleine. “You had better be grateful, because that rare gem is a one-time use.”

“One-time use?!” Madeleine’s face contorts in stupefaction. Irritated, he leans forward and jabs Espresso’s chest harshly. “You wasted that gem on _me?"_

“Do not misunderstand,” Espresso huffs, shoving Madeleine’s hand away. Maybe he should have just let the golem defeat Madeleine, at the rate this is going. “I did not do it explicitly for your sake. I used it because it was the last resort, and without you, the Kingdom would lose a defender.”

“So, what I’m hearing is… you care about my well being.” That cheeky grin returns to the knight’s face, only causing Espresso to frown further in distaste. 

Whatever. He’ll accept it… just this once.

“Take it as you want. Just know that this will be the only time I help you like this.”

“That’s good enough for me-- for now, let’s just focus on getting back home.” Standing up, Madeleine picks up Espresso’s arm and drapes it gently over his own shoulder. “Sweet Tree Sap, did half of your soul leave your body? You’re as light as a feather!”

“I am perfectly fine. I can move on my own.”

“You look like you can barely even stand.”

“Silence.”

“You’re only defensive because you know I’m right.”

“If you keep this up, you will be the one who cannot stand.”

“Alright, Drama Queen! Calm down!”

Even though they end up limping out the cave with shards of crystal wedged into their dough and only supported by each other’s weights, the two manage to make it back to the kingdom somewhat in one piece.

Perhaps, that blonde bastard isn’t all too horrible. Past their first encounter, the two made a mutual agreement to never mention their meeting, simply due to the differences in their clashing personalities. However, now that Madeleine stands before him again, maybe there is something to learn from the other that he would have never expected to ever imagine in his life.

In the end, Espresso realizes that not every task can be completed on his own… and that Madeleine wouldn’t be such a bad partner, after all.

But he won’t admit this. 

Just not yet.


End file.
